


Shark Week

by eeveestho



Series: Yakulev Week 2014 [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Menstruation, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-19
Updated: 2014-08-19
Packaged: 2018-02-13 20:05:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2163459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eeveestho/pseuds/eeveestho
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lev surprises Yaku with a visit over Golden Week, but maybe he should’ve called ahead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shark Week

**Author's Note:**

> yakulev week - day 2: shark week

The dizzying, complex map of the Osaka subway stations seemed incomprehensible to Lev. How was anyone supposed to figure out where they were going? Was he supposed to take the Midosuji Line… or the monorail… Why didn’t it have Osaka University labeled on the map?? Surely that was a big destination. He knew that Yaku lived one or two stations away from the university, but at least knowing the general direction would help.

He could have texted Lev for directions but… Well, he wanted to keep his visit a surprise. It would be more romantic to just show up at Yaku’s doorstop, right???

…Now that he thought of it, maybe showing up unannounced at his grumpy boyfriend’s door wasn’t a great idea. But he had already taken the Shinkansen from Tokyo and was standing in Osaka, staring at a map of the train stations… So, he might as well just go.

Besides, this would be the first time Lev visited Yaku for more than a few hours since he moved out to Osaka for university. They had the whole week to hang out! Alone… in Yaku’s apartment… with no parents lurking in the other rooms…

After getting directions from a very kind grandma, he managed to make his way to the station near where Yaku lived. Lev knew how to walk to his apartment from the station – it was just the station name, and how to get there, that he forgot. The last time he came to Osaka, Yaku had met him at Shin-Osaka Station, where the Shinkansen had dropped him off, and had also escorted him back to the central station when he went home. He had been so wrapped up in talking to Yaku both times that he had completely blanked on where to go this time.

Down the road past the grocery store until he saw the convenience store with the cat logo, turn right and then right again, and it was the white and green two storey building with the chrysanthemum bushes out front. Yaku’s apartment was 202 – Lev could still hear Yaku’s voice, crisp and clear, “two-oh-two”. He stopped in front of the door, checked the name plate just to be sure (Yaku, written in square, neat kanji), and then knocked four times on the door.

And then he waited. For 10 seconds. 20 seconds. 30 seconds. Lev lifted his fist again to knock at the door – maybe Yaku wasn’t home?? – when he heard the click of the lock being undone. The door opened a little bit, held fast by a chain. Yaku stared out of the door crack at him.

He looked, to put it mildly, like shit. He was cloaked in a blanket and his eyes were rimmed with red.

“Lev?” he murmured hoarsely. “What… What are you doing here?”

Lev tried to smile. “Um… it’s Golden Week… so I came to stay with you?”

Yaku narrowed his eyes at Lev. Then, with a sigh, muttered, “Wait a sec.” He closed the door and opened it again a moment later after taking the chain off the door, beckoning Lev inside.

“Are you sick, Yaku?” Lev asked anxiously, as he entered the apartment. “Sorry… I should’ve called ahead…”

“No, it’s fine,” he sighed. “It’s just… well, it’s shark week.”

“Oh.”

Oh. Shark week. It was a euphemism that Yaku used to refer to when his reproductive biology made itself loudly known. Lev was used to the PMS and mood swings and demand for junk food from growing up with his sisters and mothers, but… well, Yaku was even worse. He had terrible cramps, got extremely moody, and coupled with his dysphoria, it made Yaku absolutely miserable beyond measure.

“I mean, if you want to leave,” Yaku mumbled, scratching the back of his head and staring down at the wall near Lev’s knees, “I wouldn’t blame you. I’m, um, not gonna be up for much entertaining. It just started today, too, so… it’s gonna be all week.”

“Do you want me to leave?” Lev asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

Yaku kept his gaze on that spot on the wall. “It’s up to you.”

Lev cautiously reached out and touched Yaku’s shoulder lightly. He knew that Yaku wasn’t really into being touched when he was on his period. “I want to be here with you,” he said, looking into his eyes, even if he wasn’t looking back.

Yaku did look up then. There was something in his gaze that Lev didn’t recognize: something raw and vulnerable. Lev almost felt like he should avert his eyes, pretend he didn’t see it. Yaku nodded and said, “Okay, then stay. But, I’m not gonna be a good host, like I said.”

Lev smiled down at him softly, and then took his hand off his shoulder. “I know, it’s okay. Thanks, Yaku.”

Yaku led the way into his small bachelor pad apartment, making a cursory apology for the mess. It wasn’t messy, exactly; it did look a lot more lived in than last time Lev was here, when he was helping Yaku move in a few months ago. The bedclothes were rumpled a bit – it looked like Yaku had been in his bed when Lev knocked on the door. The TV on top of the bookshelf across from Yaku’s bed had a paused movie on it. By the looks of it, Lev noted with a sinking feeling, it was a horror movie. He should’ve known. When Yaku felt like crap, he liked to watch other people get killed in various horrible ways. There was a garbage can directly in front of Yaku’s bed, stuffed with used Kleenexes and snack wrappers.

“How are you doing on food?” Lev asked, looking at the strata of garbage in the transparent can.

Yaku flopped back on the bed with a grunt. “Um… I had some chips a few hours ago…” he mumbled, crawling back under the covers.

Lev frowned down at him, putting his hands on his hips. “When was the last time you had proper food?”

“Define proper.”

“Something you had to cook.”

“…Define cook.”

Lev sighed a little. “Alright, I’ll be back in half an hour. And then I’m making you some food. I’ll take care of you, okay, Yaku?”

“Knock yourself out,” Yaku muttered, unpausing the movie. A feminine scream emitted from the TV, and Lev turned swiftly away from it, sliding his shoes back on. “Get some more chips too!” Yaku called out, just before he left.

Just as he said, about half an hour later, Lev came back, his arms laden with groceries. “I’m back!” he called out cheerfully. He had hoped to get a “Welcome back!” or even “Welcome home!” but he was greeted with a mere grunt from the lump of blankets on the bed.

He set the bags down on the kitchen counter – which, to Yaku’s credit, was immaculately clean – and then turned to dig in his backpack which he had set down by the front door when he first came in. He pulled a Tupperware container out of it, and went over to the lump of blankets. “I forgot, my mom baked you some cookies,” Lev said, setting the Tupperware container on the bed beside Yaku. “It’s white chocolate and matcha – it’s a new recipe she’s trying, they’re pretty good.”

Leaving the box there without another word, Lev went back to the kitchen. He knew that Yaku would try them almost immediately: Mrs Haiba’s baking was legendary, and there was no bigger fan of it than Yaku Morisuke. Sure enough, when he turned around a moment later to ask if Yaku owned an apron, Yaku was sitting up a bit, resting his back against the wall, munching on a cookie.

Even though he didn’t know his way around Yaku’s kitchen, he managed to find everything he needed to make a meat and potato stew. It was what his dad always made when his mom was out with menstrual issues. Whether that was because it was actually good for it, with the warm soup and the iron-rich beef, or because Mr Haiba was simply useless at cooking most things, was unclear. But Lev tried it out anyways. If nothing else, a bit of hot homecooked food would do Yaku’s bachelor diet of junk food and takeout well.

He wanted to hum a bit as he cooked, like he did at home, but Yaku kept turning up the volume of the TV whenever Lev accidentally dropped something or the burbling of the boiling pot of stew got too loud. He suspected Yaku could begrudge the sounds of food being made, but if Lev unnecessarily added to that noise… Well. He didn’t know if Yaku was prone to anger as well as misery during shark week, but he figured it wasn’t worth the risk to find out.

Awhile later, after the awful horror movie had ended and Yaku had moved on to browsing the internet on his laptop (slumped down so that the warm bottom of the laptop rested on his belly), Lev ladled stew into two mismatched bowls from Yaku’s cupboard (why Yaku only had one of each kind of bowl, Lev would never understand) and took off the apron.

“Do you wanna eat at the table or in bed?” he asked Yaku turning down the stove element to low so the rest of the soup could simmer, in case he wanted seconds.

Yaku stared balefully at the kitchen table, as if resenting it for not being in front of his bed, and then with a sigh he set his laptop aside and got to his feet, padding over dully to the table. Lev set a bowl in front of him, along with a spoon and a buttered bread roll on a smaller plate. “Do you want milk? Water? Juice?”

“Milk is good.”

Lev came back with two glasses of milk and set them on the table before pulling out the other chair and sitting down to eat dinner together.

He did most of the talking during dinner, light conversation about interesting things he saw on the journey to Osaka or how the Nekoma volleyball team was doing since Yaku graduated. He tried not to put any pressure on Yaku to respond. He knew that right now it was all Yaku could do to simply be alive, and Lev just wanted to be a comforting presence. A light in the dark, so to speak.

Lev was mopping up the last dregs of his stew when a sniffle from his left made him freeze in place, like a deer in the headlights. He whipped his head up to see Yaku, staring down at his empty bowl, his bottom lip quivering slightly.

“Oh my god Yaku what’s wrong??” Lev said, aghast. “Do you want more stew?? There’s more, I made plenty! Don’t cry, it’s okay, there’s lots. And I bought some chocolate and chips at the store for you!” A new horrifying thought struck him. “…Oh no, was the stew that bad? I’m sorry! I was just… trying to do what my dad did… You didn’t need to eat all that!!”

Yaku shook his head violently, laughing wetly. “No, the stew was great, Lev. I just…” He looked up at Lev. Even though he was smiling wryly at him, he couldn’t help but be alarmed at the tears pooling in the corners of Yaku’s eyes. “It’s just that I’m not used to people taking care of me like this.”

Lev stared at him. That’s why he was crying?

His incredulity must have been written across his face, because Yaku let out another laugh and shook his head, dropping his gaze back down to the table. “Sorry. I know it’s stupid. Hormones… and all that.”

He stood up from the table and went back to the bed, not meeting Lev’s eyes the whole way back. Lev was staring at him in shock, though. Yaku’s words were echoing in his head. I’m not used to people taking care of me… I’m not used to people taking care of me… Not used to… taking care of me…

Yaku looked up when he had sank down below the covers, propping himself up on an elbow to face Lev. His watery expression was gone, though his eyes were still quite damp. “Well?” he asked, his voice suddenly full of its usual strength.

“Well?” Lev echoed.

“Are you going to join me or not?”

Lev was sure that his eyes must have popped out of his skull. Maybe he had passed out on the train and he was dreaming. This was usually the part where the robots smashed in the roof.

“Close your mouth, that’s not an attractive look on you,” Yaku quipped, flopping back down onto the pillows.

“You… want to cuddle, Yaku?” Lev asked, not able to keep the joy and excitement from edging into his words. Yaku rarely wanted to cuddle when he wasn’t menstruating. And when he was… he didn’t even want Lev touching him, normally.

“Is it so weird to want to cuddle with my boyfriend?” he muttered, his voice muffled almost to inaudibility from the blankets. It was, in fact, weird, but Lev felt that pointing that out wasn’t prudent.

“Wait, wait, I need to put the leftovers away so we can eat them tomorrow,” he said, standing up from the table suddenly, making his chair scrape against the linoleum loudly. He took the pot off the stove and stuck a cork pot holder under it as he slid it into the barren fridge. It wasn’t the most elegant solution, but it would have to do for now.

Lev suddenly turned and dug into one of the grocery bags that he hadn’t unpacked, and pulled a small hot water bottle, about the size of a paperback novel, out of the bag. “Hey, I got you a hot water bottle at the store, Yaku,” he called out, holding it aloft so he could see from the bed. “Want me to fill it up for you? It might make your stomach feel better.”

After a short silence, Yaku grunted in an affirmative way and Lev filled it up with hot water from the tap. He wrapped it in a towel that he quickly grabbed from the bathroom and brought it over to Yaku, who accepted it and closed his eyes as he pressed it against his belly. “Turn off the lights, would you?” Yaku said with a yawn, and Lev quickly obliged and returned to join him in his bed.

Lev stood in front of the bed, his legs tensed. He wasn’t sure how to… enter. How Yaku wanted him to be beside him. Was he supposed to be the big spoon? The little spoon? Did Yaku just want him to warm up his blankets a bit? Did he want him on top or underneath the covers??

Yaku let out a weary sigh and pulled back the blankets between him and the wall, jerking his head backwards. Lev nodded, even though Yaku had his eyes closed, and awkwardly climbed over Yaku to slot his long thin body into the space between Yaku and the wall. It was a queen sized bed, but it was still a bit tight. Yaku was in the middle of the bed, and didn’t seem to want to move.

“Hold me,” Yaku mumbled almost inaudibly, scooting back a little bit so his butt brushed against Lev’s hip. He obliged, wrapping his left arm around Yaku so his hand rested against Yaku’s chest, scooting forward so their bodies were nearly flush, cushioning his head with his left arm. He didn’t dare try slinging his leg over Yaku’s – that seemed a bit too suggestive for the current situation. The last thing he wanted to do was upset the delicate balance and get kicked out of Yaku’s bed by being too forward. It had happened before, and he knew that Yaku would have no problem doing it at that moment.

Yaku moved his feet back a bit, crossing his ankles with Lev’s, letting out a sigh. The hand that wasn’t holding the hot water bottle against his belly moved up to hold Lev’s hand, tangling their fingers together in a practiced motion. Yaku’s neck was curved, his chin tucked against his chest. If Lev moved his head forward an inch, he could kiss the base of his neck. The temptation was too much to resist; he planted a soft, closed mouth lingering kiss on the knot there. Yaku just let out a soft hum of appreciation, squeezing Lev’s hand gently.

“Thank you,” Yaku murmured, “For staying with me.” His voice rumbled softly through his chest: Lev could feel it vibrating against his own chest, and against his fingers resting against Yaku’s front. “I’m not a very good sempai, am I?” he said, sighing and chuckling softly. “I’m supposed to take care of my kouhai, not the other way around…”

Lev studied the back of Yaku’s neck seriously. First the tears, now this… He knew Yaku was used to being the “team mom” of Nekoma… and at home… well. He was never exactly babied, to put it lightly.

“Nothing wrong with letting people who love you take care of you, Yaku,” he murmured, tightening his arm around his boyfriend. “I love you. No matter what.”

Yaku nodded mutely, a mere jerk of his head into the blanket. Lev couldn’t see his face, didn’t know what sort of expression he was wearing. He couldn’t tell if his face was twisted in that self-deprecating smirk that he wore when Lev told him he loved him and would love him always. But, as he gripped his boyfriend tight in his arms, his stomach warm with more than stew, drifting off slowly to sleep, he willed Yaku to believe him for once.


End file.
